Millions of mummified birds serving for religious purpose have been discovered from archeological sites along the Nile Valley of Egypt, in majority ibises. Whether these birds were industrially raised or massively hunted is a matter of heavy debate as it would have a significant impact on the economy related to their supply and cult, and if hunted it would have represented an ecological burden on the birds populations. Here we have measured and analysed the stable oxygen, carbon and radiogenic strontium isotope compositions as well as calcium and barium content of bones along with the stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope composition of feathers from 20 mummified ibises and birds of prey recovered from various archeological sites of Ancient Egypt. If these migratory birds were locally bred, their stable oxygen, radiogenic strontium and stable sulfur isotopic compositions would be similar to that of coexisting Egyptians, and their stable carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope variance would be close, or lower than that of Egyptians. On one hand, isotopic values show that ibises ingested food from the Nile valley but with a higher isotopic scattering than observed for the diet of ancient Egyptians. On the other hand, birds of prey have exotic isotopic values compatible with their migratory behaviour. We therefore propose that most mummified ibises and all the birds of prey analysed here were wild animals hunted for religious practice.

在埃及尼罗河流域的考古遗址中发现了数百万只用于宗教目的的木乃伊鸟，其中大多数是朱鹭。这些鸟类是工业饲养还是大规模猎杀是一个激烈争论的问题，因为这将对与其供应和崇拜相关的经济产生重大影响，如果被猎杀，则会对鸟类种群造成生态负担。在这里，我们测量并分析了骨骼中稳定的氧、碳和放射性锶同位素组成以及钙和钡含量，以及从各种考古发现的 20 只木乃伊朱鹭和猛禽羽毛的稳定碳、氮和硫同位素组成。古埃及遗址。如果这些候鸟是在当地饲养的，它们的稳定氧气，放射性锶和稳定硫同位素组成与共存的埃及人相似，其稳定碳、氮和氧同位素变化接近或低于埃及人。一方面，同位素值表明，朱鹭从尼罗河谷摄取食物，但同位素散射比在古埃及人的饮食中观察到的更高。另一方面，猛禽具有与其迁徙行为相符的奇异同位素值。因此，我们认为这里分析的大多数木乃伊朱鹭和所有猛禽都是为宗教活动而猎杀的野生动物。同位素值表明，朱鹭从尼罗河谷摄取食物，但同位素散射比在古埃及人的饮食中观察到的要高。另一方面，猛禽具有与其迁徙行为相符的奇异同位素值。因此，我们认为这里分析的大多数木乃伊朱鹭和所有猛禽都是为宗教活动而猎杀的野生动物。同位素值表明，朱鹭从尼罗河谷摄取食物，但同位素散射比在古埃及人的饮食中观察到的要高。另一方面，猛禽具有与其迁徙行为相符的奇异同位素值。因此，我们认为这里分析的大多数木乃伊朱鹭和所有猛禽都是为宗教活动而猎杀的野生动物。